Central Michigan Remedies
H1N1 Issues with Insight Software
Industry
Public Health
Geography
Central Michigan
Challenges
• H1N1 outbreak
• Sizable coverage area
• Multiple vaccination clinics
• Limited remote access
• Updating patient records
• State reporting requirements
• Billing challenges
Solution
Insight
Results
• Quick setup for H1N1 patient
records
• Immediate billing and receipts
• Seamless integration with
state system
• Nightly reporting
• Improved time savings
• Increased accuracy
• Database improvement
www.ntst.com
“Our records transfers were going to the state on a nightly basis, and
they were far faster and smoother than we thought.”
- Craig Clingan, IT Director, Central Michigan District Health Department
Imagine rolling out a new public
health information technology solution
during the heart of a pandemic. That’s
what the Central Michigan District
Health Department was faced with in
the fall of 2009.
With worldwide, national and local
outbreaks of H1N1 influenza, residents
in the department’s six-county
coverage area were on edge about
when and how the vaccine developed
to guard against this dangerous
flu strain would be made available.
Schools were closing daily because of
widespread illness, and others were
being closed as a precaution. To
top it off, there was a fair amount of
confusion, skepticism and indecision
among residents about whether to be
vaccinated at all. Not exactly the time
for the region’s health department to
be taking the training wheels off its
new public health software solution.
Luckily the department had chosen
Insight from Netsmart.
A RELIABLE SOLUTION
“I guess I’d describe it as organized
chaos,” said department IT Director
Craig Clingan. As the vaccine arrived,
the department was faced not only
with the challenge of setting up
multiple clinics and administering
doses, but recording and reporting
them as well. Billing had to be set up
with the state, which also has strict
reporting requirements through its
exclusive MCIR health registry.
As unprecedented as these
circumstances were, Central Michigan
was uniquely prepared to deal with
them. And that plan came together
well before the pressing need of H1N1
arose.
As a long-time user of Netsmart’s
CMHC/MIS software for behavioral
health, the department was familiar
with the solutions and services
Netsmart could deliver. When it came
time to choose a Windows-based
software solution for public health,
Insight was an easy choice. “We had
tried outsourcing billing and other
functions, but it just didn’t work out,”
said Clingan. “We wanted something
that did everything, and Insight was
the choice.”
PERFECT TIMING
After the necessary internal
preparations, the Health District was
ready to implement Insight. Tables
and tracking were set up. Records
were transferred. Netsmart trained the
trainers, who in turn trained the users
at each of its offices. The new solution
went live in October and all went
reasonably well. Then came the H1N1
clinics.
“We had to act quickly to set up several
clinics per county between October
and December,” Clingan recalled.
“Most were in schools and libraries
because those were the public spaces
that made most sense. We vaccinated
first responders first and then began
Public Health
Central Michigan Remedies H1N1 Issues with Insight Software (continued)
with higher-risk groups in the general
population. At the first school clinic
we did, there were people lined up for
2-3 hours. And despite the volume
of people and the task at hand, the
biggest challenge for us turned out
to be consistent, dependable Internet
access.”
Though their network of air cards and
routers left them short on bandwidth
at the clinics, they were miles ahead of
other departments in the state – most
of which were scanning or faxing
forms to the MCIR. The department’s
thorough preparation had them in the
right place at the right time.
The Health District’s Insight solution
included the Immunization module
that allowed them to easily set up an
immunization template just for H1N1,
track lot numbers for doses and do
batch uploads of records to the state.
No record had to be entered more than
once for any function – from patient
information to billing to upload.
“Our records transfers were going to
the state on a nightly basis, and they
were far faster and smoother than we
thought,” said Clingan. “Insight did just
what we needed it to do.”
ABUNDANT EFFICIENCIES
Performing under the pressure and
spotlight of the H1N1 immunization
program was not only a stern test for
Insight, but the department, too. Both
passed with flying colors.
“I’d say it was a pretty impressive
performance from our staff,” said
Clingan. “We had done drills before in
preparation, but this was our first mass
vaccination.”
www.ntst.com 1.800.421.7503, Option 6
Insight brought plenty of value to
the table, too. The simplicity of its
templates allowed the department
to easily add H1N1 immunizations
to existing patient records, bill
immediately and provide receipts.
“INSIGHT DID JUST WHAT
WE NEEDED IT TO DO.”
- Craig Clingan, IT Director,
Central Michigan District
Health Department
“It actually helped us build and
improve our patient database,” Clingan
said. Through Insight, the department
was able to track vaccines delivered
to patients, creating a more complete
patient record for future public health
emergencies.
“So far we’ve been very pleased,”
Clingan added. “And we’re just
scratching the surface.”
The next task may be using Insight
to tackle remote bandwidth. “We’re
talking about testing the Insight
Anywhere module for our fall seasonal
flu clinics to solve our Internet access
issues.”
Sounds like good timing.
CONTACT US TODAY
Netsmart Technologies is an
established, leading supplier of
enterprise software and software as
a service (SaaS) solutions for health
and human services providers. More
than 18,000 customer organizations,
including 350,000 care providers and
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and help improve the quality of life for
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Netsmart has more than 30 years of
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Netsmart provides solutions that
help its customers meet the evolving
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under the American Recovery and
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These include use of a certified
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e-prescribing service, the CareConnect
service that enables the sharing of
clinical information through health
information exchanges, and a flexible
platform to capture and share
outcomes data.
Visit www.ntst.com or call
1.800.421.7503, Option 6 to learn how
Netsmart can help your organization
maximize revenue, improve service
levels and provide a higher quality
of care.
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